Rice farming in India

Case study
TITLE
Rice farming in India and Bangladesh, SE Asia

TYPE OF FARMING SOILS RELIEF CLIMATE

Intensive, subsistence, arable and monoculture

INPUTS - PHYSICAL
Rich alluvial soils full of nutrients due to annual flooding of the River Ganges. Manure from water buffalo adds to fertility Flat river flooding plain High temperatures over 21 degrees Celsius throughout the year which ideal for growing rice. This continuous growing season allows two crops to be grown annually on the same piece of land. Annual Monsoon rains for water

INPUTS - HUMAN CAPITAL (money) LABOUR (workers) FARM SIZE

Very little capital available as this is subsistence farming Labour intensive lots of family members, including children, will work on the land 1 hectare (the size of a football pitch) and may be divided into 12 or 15 plots

TECHNOLOGY Very little technology only hand held machinery to use with
water buffalo

MARKET TRANSPORT

Generally no market as largely subsistence farming so nothing left to sell. Any extra output will be sold at a local market. Generally not important as all output is consumed by the family. If there is some extra output and it goes to the local market it will travel by local transportation e.g. water buffalo on poorly constructed and maintained mud roads.

PROCESSES
Rice initially grown in nurseries, transported as soon as the monsoon rain flood the padi-fields rice needs to be submerged in water to grow.

OUTPUT
During the dry season, when there is often insufficient water for rice, either vegetations or a cereal crop is grown.